Urban Indigenous commercial tobacco use in Canada: our health counts Toronto
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1 |
Seventh Generation Midwives Toronto, Canada |
2 |
St Michael's Hospital, Well Living House, Canada |
3 |
University of Canberra, Faculty of Health, Australia |
4 |
University of Toronto, Canada |
Publication date: 2018-03-01
Tob. Induc. Dis. 2018;16(Suppl 1):A900
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ABSTRACT
Background:
In
Canada, there is a poor understanding of commercial (non-traditional) tobacco
use and effective tobacco reduction strategies among the Indigenous population.
This is predominately due to data collection systems that misclassify and/or
exclude Indigenous peoples and weak Indigenous health service and program
evaluation systems. The most recent statistics are outdated (2006) and
underestimate the prevalence of Indigenous tobacco use. This research generated
a unique primary dataset in a major urban area in one of Canada's largest
Indigenous communities.
Methods:
Our Health Counts Toronto uses Indigenous community driven processes to
generate a comprehensive health information platform to understand and address
critical gaps in urban Indigenous health and tobacco use. Trained local interviewers
implemented a survey using Response Driven Sampling among Indigenous adults in
Toronto for the generation of population-level prevalence estimates, including
information on tobacco use. Statistical analysis was used to characterize and
describe the results,
determining prevalence of tobacco use by age, sex, education and household
income.
Results:
This
research recruited a sample of 935 Indigenous adults. Preliminary analysis
indicated the prevalence of current daily smoking among Indigenous people in
Toronto was 62.3% (95%CI:55.0,69.6). Of current smokers, 42.7%
(95%CI:33.1,52.3) smoked 11 sticks or more per day, and 53.1% (95%CI:44.1,62.1)
of all Indigenous smokers had tried to quit in the last 12 months.
Conclusions:
Canada
is a signatory to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which recognizes
the disproportionate harm caused by tobacco use and the need to engage with Indigenous
peoples in planning, delivery, and evaluation of tobacco reduction programs and
policies. However, the Indigenous population in Toronto continues to experience
smoking rates nearly four times greater than the general population. This
research highlights the need for recent and accurate population health data to inform
tobacco reduction programs and policies; reducing a completely preventable
cause of morbidity and mortality.